POLITICAL STRATEGIES FOR POLICY REFORM 205


ized experimental design looks especially promising for encouraging policy- oriented learning (Duflo, Glennersterzand, and Kremer 2006). This approach could be used to examine the feasibility of different types of targeting for both fertilizer and electricity subsidies. A range of other policy experiments are also of interest. For example, one could compare decentralizing electric- ity supply to user groups and to panchayati raj institutions. Another experi- ment might offer farmers the opportunity to voluntarily pay a higher price in exchange for full-time access to high-quality electricity. For fertilizers, one could compare the targeting impact of the current product-based subsidies with that of the proposed nutrient-based subsidies.


Make Research More Demand-Driven


Because research on questions associated with the electricity supply to agri- culture is often produced and used for advocacy, it typically focuses on those aspects of an issue that the proponents of a particular policy option consider most important. However, deliberative processes that bring groups with different belief systems together might create a demand for new research- based knowledge. As a hypothetical example, the participants of such a deliberative forum might want to know more about the impact of increasing agricultural tariffs on households that buy groundwater and on agricultural laborers. Research on this question could then be commissioned to institu- tions trusted by groups with different belief systems. Research that is based on a real demand for specific knowledge is more likely to address the con- cerns of stakeholders and to be of use in the political process.


Make Research-Based Knowledge More Accessible to Legislators


The institutional mechanisms for making policy-relevant knowledge avail- able to Indian legislators are limited. The Planning Commission has access to research-based knowledge from leading scholars. However, there is nothing similar to a Congressional Research Service, and Indian national and state legislators do not have large staffs to read, summarize, and present to them information on policy issues. Legislators generally learn about the most press- ing problems from their constituents. They receive policy advice on agricul- tural issues from a variety of sources but primarily from NGOs, such as envi- ronmental groups.4 Farmers’ groups also receive policy advice from NGOs. Although the quality of the policy advice given by NGOs may be high, it may


4 Interviews with members of Parliament and state legislative assemblies, New Delhi, January 10, 2006; Hyderabad, March 6 and 9, 2006; Chandigarh, March 16 and December 2 and 3, 2006.


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